Whitney's Advice on NOT Overeating at Parties!

Summer barbecues, parties, and holidays all have one thing in common:
lots of junk food! When you are trying to lose weight and stay in
shape, celebrations can suddenly seem a lot less fun because you'll be
very tempted to indulge. While it's okay to treat yourself sometimes,
if you give in too much to temptation, you'll backtrack on all the
progress you've made so far. I thought I'd give you a few pointers on
how to avoid sinking too far into temptation, and how to safely indulge
in fun settings.

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Satisfy your cravings beforehand. Try to eat something before you go to a party or anyplace where you know junk food will be served. Just like many of you, I went to a party over the July 4th weekend, but I didn't want to fill up on chips when I arrived. Instead, I decided to eat beforehand to avoid getting hungry and making unhealthy choices. It worked! When I got to the party, I was already full from my dinner, and I didn't even crave anything else.

Make a plan and stick to it. If you really want to let loose at a party and indulge, set a limit for yourself before you start eating. For example, if you see a plate of tasty-looking cookies, tell yourself that you'll only have one or two — and that's it. Eat your cookies slowly and enjoy them. If you take the time to think about what you're eating and appreciate it, you'll be satisfied when you're finished. (But if you tell yourself you can't have any, that's the "all or nothing" mindset that makes you end up eating too many.)

Get back on track. Slip-ups happen, so if you do overindulge, start making up for it the next day. Eat better, and maybe hit the treadmill for a bit longer than usual. It's not about reversing anything or punishing yourself, but more about showing yourself that a mistake is just that — one mistake that you can recover from!

No one is perfect all the time. It's really hard to never stray from your nutrition plan, and sometimes things just happen. What's really important is to stay on track most of the time, and you'll be okay. Always make an effort to eat healthily, but don't beat yourself up if you have a bad day.

So tell me, how were your weekends? If you decided to indulge, did you get back on track? Let me know!